HAWTHORN forward Brendan Whitecross made a successful return to football in the VFL in Box Hill's six-point win over Sandringham on Sunday.

Whitecross ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament against Collingwood in the opening quarter of the Qualifying Final and underwent a full knee reconstruction that saw him sidelined for nine months.

The Club took a cautious approach with his return, delaying it until after the bye despite Whitecross completing full training for a number of weeks.

He gathered 12 disposals and laid three tackles in his return.

Box Hill Coach Damian Carroll said despite his modest numbers, Whitecross added some much needed leadership and experience to the Box Hill side.

“I thought he contributed really well, we moved him to half back in the last quarter because we just wanted someone who could kick the ball long,” he said. 

“He will be better for the run, his touch wasn’t quite there yet but he’s a terrific leader and a terrific guy to have on your side.”

Despite wayward goal kicking, Box Hill managed to hold off Sandringham to take top spot on the VFL ladder.

In the first quarter the Hawks were unable to turn their dominance around the ground into a scoring threat as they broke down trying to force entries inside 50.

It was the second quarter, however, where Box Hill were particularly wasteful in front of the big sticks, kicking 3.7 for the term in a game where it almost came back to bite them.

The sun departed for the final quarter and Box Hill and Sandringham fought a stalemate for the first 10 minutes before the Hawks busted the game wide open.  

First Matthew Spangher used his opponent as a stepladder to take his first spectacular mark of the game and then Box Hill piled on four goals in a 10 minute burst to hold what looked like an unassailable 26-point lead.

However, the next five minutes contained three Sandringham goals and set the scene for a memorable and nail-biting finish. 

Trailing by six points, the Zebras’ final thrust forward before the siren was cut off by Spangher, the backman courageously went back with the flight of the ball in what looked to be a game saving mark.  

Final score: 
Box Hill 2.3 5.10 8.12 12.17 (89)
Sandringham 2.2 3.5 9.7 12.11 (83)

Goals: M. Northe 3, L. Tobin 2, S. Grimley 2, D. Wanganeen , X. Ellis , S. Iles , L. Lowden , M. Osborne 
Best: M. Spangher, M. Hallahan, X. Ellis, K. Cheney, L. Tobin, M. Northe

Hawthorn listed players: 

34. Jordan Kelly

Stats: 11 kicks, 4 inside 50s, 7 tackles

Was solid all game, his skills were generally clean and you know he is going to find a target if he’s given some space.

35. Sam Grimley

Stats: 7 kicks, 13 hitout, 2 goals

Show his versatility by helping the big men in the ruck when they needed a rest and was Box Hill’s biggest threat to score in the first half.

37. Jed Anderson

Stats: 12 kicks, 4 inside 50s, 4 clearances

Played an attacking game and a lot of his ball in the forward half of the ground which was good to see, Appeared to sustain an injury in the third quarter and didn’t play after that.

38. Mitch Hallahan

Stats: 8 kicks, 11 handballs, 4 clearances

Ran hard all day and managed to find space and a fair bit of the pill. Had a good combination of work inside and outside, in the top handful on the ground. 

43. Amos Frank

Stats: 1 handball, 4 tackles

Really struggled to impact the game, will look to bounce back next week. 

46. Derick Wanganeen

Stats: 8 kicks, 4 handballs, 1 goal

Missed a couple he should have slotted but he did snap a really nice goal from the boundary. 

47. Jonathon Ceglar

Stats: 9 kicks, 4 handballs, 35 hitouts

Took control of the ruck battle and was a big reason the midfield were able to get first hands on the ball at stoppages.

61. Angus Litherland

Stats: 8 kicks, 3 handballs, 6 rebounds 50s

Led the team in rebound 50s providing a bit of run and dash off halfback, when the ball is in his hands coming out of the backline you know he will find someone.

63. Kyle Cheney

Stats: 6 kicks, 5 handballs, 2 marks

Was asked to play tall for much of the game and as a result his normally high rebound rate suffered, but he kept his man quiet and won some pivotal 1 on 1s. 

65. Will Langford

Stats: 13 kicks, 8 tackles, 9 clearances

Really thrived in the tough, scrappy conditions and seemed to relish getting the ball inside. Every time he gets hit he just bounces back up and keeps on going. 

67. Matt Spangher

Stats: 9 kicks, 6 marks, 5 inside 50s

His stats don’t tell the story of how well he played. Nearly all of his six marks seemed to be at vital moments including the late game saving mark. Had almost as many rebound 50s and inside 50s as he took the game on both offensively and defensively.

70. Luke Lowden

Stats: 9 disposals, 24 hitouts, 1 goal

Wasn’t his usual mercurial self but still popped up when he was needed to kick a much required goal. 

71. Shane Savage

Stats: 12 disposals, 2 tackles, 4 clearances

Spent the entire second half in a tracksuit on the bench but was everywhere in the first half.

77. Michael Osborne

Stats: 16 disposals, 5 inside 50s, 6 tackles

Kicked an important goal which helped start a run midway through the fourth term. Did a bit of everything throughout the game, really solid outing from the veteran. 

80. Xavier Ellis

14 kicks, 5 handballs, 9 tackles

Was ferocious attacking the ball carrier and ended up with a game high nine tackles. Ended up with a goal but probably could have had two or three but he did everything else well, another one with a nice balance between inside and outside work.

81. Brendan Whitecross

8 kicks, 4 handballs, 3 tackles

Didn’t light the game on fire in his first game back but displayed enough signs to show why Hawthorn fans are so excited to get him back in the team. Moved well and doesn’t appear to be suffering any ill effects from his ACL injury.